Filipino Sojourner: November 2017

A visit to the Minor Basilica of the Santo Niño naturally means a visit to the nearby Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. Thus, I visited again this seat of the Archbishop of Cebu during my 2014 and 2016 visits to Ciudad de Cebu.

Just like the Minor Basilica of the Santo Niño, the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral was damaged during the 2013 Bohol Earthquake.

Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral Damaged by Bohol Earthquake

The bell tower has cracks…

Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral Belfry Damaged by Bohol Earthquake

…as well as the façade.

Facade of Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral damaged by Bohol earthquake

The Bohol earthquake is not the first catastrophe that befell this cathedral. In fact, it experienced worse destruction during the Second World War after it was bombed by the American war planes during the liberation from the Japanese invaders. Only the façade, the walls, and the bell tower survived the aerial bombing.

Thankfully, the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral sustained minor damages, which is unlike the Minor Basilica of the Santo Niño where the bell tower collapsed and the Holy Mass has to be held outside of the church.

Interior of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral

The interior of the Cebu Cathedral and was not affected by the Bohol Earthquake. Thus, I was able to get a good photo of the altar.

…and other images in the cathedral.

Images of the saints in Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral

The organ at the area above the cathedral's door was also spared by the earthquake.

Pipe Organ of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral

A little research revealed that Cebu Cathedral’s official name is Metropolitan Cathedral and Parish of Saint Vitalis and of the Guardian Angels. The cathedral got Saint Vitalis as its patron because the Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi landed on Cebu on 28th of April 1565, which is the feast day of that saint.

I also discovered that Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral is the very first church in Cebu (thus also the very first church in the whole Philippines). It was said that the image of the Santo Niño was transferred to this church from the house where it was discovered. It means that Cebu Cathedral is much older than the Minor Basilica of the Santo Niño.

I was not able to enter the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral during my 2016 visit to Cebu but I had a good look of its restored façade.

Restored facade of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral

The bell tower was restored too.

Restored bell tower of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral

I am glad that Cebu City recovered from the earthquake and the restoration of the damages Minor Basilica of the Santo Niño and Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral is the symbol of that.

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Read more of my latest adventure in the island of Cebu!

Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 3): Feasting on Consolacion’s Fresh Talaba
Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 2): Finding Consolation in Consolacion Church

Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 1): My Boat Ride Under the Bridges of Mactan Channel

A Foretaste of Cebu in Mactan Cebu International Airport
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Birhen sa Regla image that I brought from Cebu

There is one church on Mactan Island that piqued my curiosity during my first visit to the Province of Cebu. That church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the title of “Birhen sa Regla”.

“Why regla?”, I asked. Is Mama Mary a patron saint for ladies suffering dysmenorrhea and pains related to menstruation? Is regla the Cebuano word for blood?

These questions popped to my mind because we Tagalogs define regla as menstruation. I didn’t find having a patron saint for ladies suffering menstrual pains implausible because the Catholic Church has many saints for “random” and “weird” things. An example would be St. Eligius who is the patron saint of gas station and garage workers. In fact, there is a saint who is called upon during menstrual cramps. He is a guy and the general of the Theban Legion named Maurice.

A little Google search revealed that my assumption that regla means menstruation is wrong. Regla is actually an abbreviation of the Spanish word reglamento, which means rule. In short Birhen sa Regla is Our Lady of the Rule in English.

The veneration of Our Lady of the Rule was said to be begun by St. Augustine. According to tradition, St. Augustine has an image of a black Virgin Mary and through that image the saint received the rule that he used to guide his monastic community.

The altar of Opon Church featuring the image of Birhen sa Regla

The islands of Cebu and Mactan were placed under the care of the Augustinians. Thus, it is not surprising that they brought the veneration of the Birhen sa Regla to the islands. The veneration became so popular that the people of Opon (the old name of Lapu-Lapu City) has a big fiesta honoring the black virgin.

The image of Birhen sa Regla was so dear to the people that they offer their precious jewelries for every answered prayer. The image was adorned by precious things until the parish priest decided to remove it after a robbery incident.

I was so oblivious of the fame of the Birhen sa Regla that I didn’t even know that the church where I attended a Sunday mass during my first visit to Cebu housed her famous image!

As newbie collector of Marian images, I found the image of Birhen sa Regla in Cebu unique to the many Marian images that I saw in this archipelago. I considered her as a defining image of Cebu.

I brought home an image of the Birhen sa Regla and she is now placed in our living room.

What I like with this image is that she holds another image that is so popular in Cebu. And that is the image of the Santo Niño.

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Read more of my latest adventure in the island of Cebu!

Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 3): Feasting on Consolacion’s Fresh Talaba
Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 2): Finding Consolation in Consolacion Church

Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 1): My Boat Ride Under the Bridges of Mactan Channel

A Foretaste of Cebu in Mactan Cebu International Airport
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Pages

Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 13): Another Visit to the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral

Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 12): Why Cebuanos Call Mama Mary as Birhen sa Regla?